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WSD Students and teachers collaborate to build a new Minecraft community

February 7, 2023 News Story
Mike Washburn introducing the Minecraft Community Collaboration project in Wellington School

On January 16, students in Grades 5 and 6 at Wellington School had a wonderful surprise.  

Mike Washburn, Director of Learning and Development from Logics Academy, instructed students to teleport to Wellington School and fly above to look for houses and amenities nearby. 

It was the launch of 'WSD Minecraft Community Collaboration,' a new game-based inquiry and build project. Twelve Winnipeg School Division (WSD) schools are building a new virtual world around WSD residential areas for the next six months. 

Washburn introduced the innovative concept and explained to students how they would build their school and the surrounding communities in Minecraft world. 

When students opened Minecraft on the Chromebooks and computers, they could see the streets of Winnipeg and the outlines of the buildings imported into the Minecraft world by Washburn and his technical team. 

WSD teachers from the 12 schools met with Washburn in December 2022 to discuss and plan the learning outcomes of this extensive Minecraft school collaboration. The immersive experience gives students a deep dive into Minecraft, explicitly helping them learn about their local community and the history of the land on which the school is located.

 "The province provided funds to support student learning. Students and teachers in WSD schools will create the Minecraft World, and other schools will also have an opportunity to create their communities in future years," said Dorothy Goddard, the WSD Professional Support Services lead.  

"For this inquiry project, students must ask questions, research, connect with their community and then represent their school in the build. We will also offer training sessions to our teachers so that they can guide the students."

The Minecraft school collaboration enhances students' STEAM and learning with technology skills by helping them build global competencies like critical thinking, creativity, citizenship, communication, collaboration and connection to self. 

"Our students are initially going to do a community walk, and they will look at the different types of houses, services like fire stations, hospitals, splash pads, government representatives, MPs, MLAs, what the streets are like and what everything is built of. The students will then go and build their own into the Minecraft World," said Jon Paintin, a Grade 4 and 6 teacher. 

"In connection with the curriculum, this will tie into the Indigenous community's research, and we will look at how those communities lived, what kind of houses they built and compare their lifestyle with today's living."   

Every student will be assigned a specific area in and around the school to build as per their observations.  

"My favourite part of Minecraft is looking at our community and city of Winnipeg," said Grade 6 student Reese. 

There will be some common elements that all schools will have in their build: their local community, Indigenous learnings and sustainable actions taken in their schools. 

The 12 schools will also propose ideas and build them for the Arlington Bridge Railroad area after planning a sustainable alternative for it.

In the first phase of January, Washburn and Goddard visited four schools: Wellington, Hugh John Macdonald, St. John's High School and Meadows West School. The project will be introduced to eight more schools in February and March. 

"Students aren't against hard work. They are against hard work that doesn't inspire them. These types of learning opportunities help bridge the gap between what our student likes to do at home and what we need them to accomplish at school," said Mike Washburn.  

"We're trying to create spaces where they learn in fun, creative, and engaging ways. We're trying to give them the right hard work."

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